


Lies in Two Languages

by Tallulah



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous Relationships, Deception, Infidelity, Lies, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 08:34:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17240978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tallulah/pseuds/Tallulah
Summary: Gevanni thinks a line has been crossed, but he's not sure where.





	Lies in Two Languages

Gevanni doesn’t know whether this has crossed a line or whether it’s exactly as it should be. If this were a normal case, if it were still under the FBI’s remit, it’d be clear. Lines have been crossed, boundaries have been breached, misconduct charges are going to be brought. But it’s not the FBI’s remit any more. It’s just the SPK and Near, and Near said, _I want you to get close to Raito Yagami –_  


Gevanni said, _How close?_ like he already knew what was going to happen, and Near said, _As close as you feel is appropriate_ as if he already knew, as well.  


Raito and Gevanni are lying in bed together in Raito’s apartment. Amane is not here and Gevanni hasn’t asked where she is. He’s not meant to know who Raito’s girlfriend is, only that he has one and that _she isn’t an issue_ , which was what Raito said the first time when the front door closed behind them and they were kissing up against the wall.  


Of course, he is pretty sure that Raito knows that _he_ knows exactly who Amane is and what her connection is to the Kira case. Just like he is pretty sure that Raito knows exactly who he himself is, and what _his_ connection is. They believe Raito Yagami doesn’t have the Eyes, but someone connected to him certainly does. Gevanni’s also pretty sure that there’s a photo of him somewhere – on Raito’s phone, maybe – a candid shot, that can be used to see his name and face, if it’s ever decided that – well, probably that he’s ever actually getting close to discovering something useful.  


_I’m pretty sure he’s on to me_ he said to Near.  


_That’s all right. Please just continue as you are._ Near _didn’t_ say, _You will not die_ , or, _I will warn you if I think there’s danger_. Still, Gevanni figures he’s the one who chose to start sleeping with Kira. If he was relying on someone else to protect him from the consequences, he’s even more stupid than Raito doubtless thinks he is.  


Raito doesn’t give the impression that he thinks Gevanni is stupid. That’s the really weird part. The two of them actually get on quite well (or, Gevanni gets on quite well with the person that Raito pretends to be). They’re in bed, with chilly dawn light just starting to show beyond the blinds. Raito is sitting up, drinking coffee; Gevanni rests on his elbows, enjoying the warmth, enjoying not having to drag himself out of bed in a hurry. Nominally, he’s a graduate student with no morning appointments. His cover story is the life he nearly led, studying a PhD in Japanese history. Raito is nominally a graduate student studying law – another life nearly led, maybe? – but he’s smart enough to be interested in culture and language, smart enough to discuss it in English, even. _You’re too good at it,_ Gevanni said. _I’m the one who’s meant to be bilingual here._ Raito murmured the usual platitudes about _no, no, your Japanese is so skilful_ , but they talked about the concepts, the differing structures and the way the words feel in your mouth, as if they both had no other concerns, as if neither of them could imagine their conversations having any hidden meaning and neither of them knows what it is to tell lies in two languages.  


Right now, though, they’re talking about school. Gevanni is saying, _You were always top of the class, right?_ He knows that he could insinuate maybe Raito _wasn’t_ top at something, or, say, might have struggled in an American school, and that Raito would look at him coldly and answer modestly but somehow imply that Gevanni’s a stupid foreigner who doesn’t understand. Part of him really wants to provoke a fight, let it escalate, get into poisonous territory, get all the thousands and thousands of deaths out in the open and underline just who it is he’s sleeping with. A small, stupid part of him, who’s frustrated at why this – this _liaison_ is happening, what the point of it is, other than marking time. But of course he doesn’t listen to that part.  


_Much like yourself, I imagine,_ Raito says.  


_I did okay. Didn’t always put the work in, though. And tended to suck at anything involving group projects – you guys have those here?_  


_Not much of a team player?_ Raito says, watching him.  


_More like going along to get along… which is fine if everyone else is on board. But then you get the stoner who asks if the rest of you can just write his section for him. I always figured I’d rather take the hit on the final grade than cover for him. Not my circus, not my monkeys, you know?_ He smiles. _Probably more American of me. Individual rather than community responsibility. Just I didn’t see why I should help them dodge the bullet._  


_Perhaps it’s more the people you had to work with who had no sense of responsibility,_ Raito says. _I suppose I was lucky… whenever we had team projects, everyone more or less did their part. I don’t blame you for letting people suffer the consequences of their actions. That would seem to me to be part of the learning experience._ A cool glance, a small smile.  


_Well, speaking of consequences, do I need to get going? Don’t want to make you late. Or…_ But he doesn’t really think there’s any risk of Amane coming back and catching them. Raito doesn’t even make cheating on his girlfriend seem like anything other than entirely reasonable and well-organised. No sneaking around. No getting caught with your pants down. Still, he must be used to keeping secrets. Or maybe as the Second Kira Amane knows all about this, maybe she and Raito agreed it’s worth it for the cause. Maybe Gevanni’s the only one getting played here.  


Raito is shaking his head. _It’s fine. Stay a little longer. If you want to._ Which is a hint to Gevanni, _I want you_ , or maybe, _I want you to want me._ Sometimes Raito is the one who takes the lead, _Come here, kiss me, touch me, do it, let me_ , sometimes he watches and waits for Gevanni to say it, to be the one doing. Gevanni’s under no illusions that he could ever really ruffle Raito’s composure here. Fair enough. He’s good at watching, he thinks he’s pretty good at guessing people’s intentions, he’s in this for ulterior motives even if he’s not sure what those are, so he can make a hook-up based on hints work pretty well. Go along to get along. He’s leaning over to kiss Raito hard, _I want you, I want this_ , watching himself shudder, feeling the heat building inside him, hearing himself breathe faster. The sex is amazing, because why would anything that Raito Yagami does not be perfect?  


No one has asked if part of the reason for that is the adrenaline, if it’s turned out that the person making you come being able to kill you like _that_ is a fetish he never knew he had. He’s asked himself this, a little, but it isn’t as if he can do much about it, if that’s the case.  


He’d like to ask Raito if the same might be true for him. He’d like to ask Raito what it’s like to be living a lie that big. He wants to say, _Tell me what it’s like. Tell me how it feels, doing this when you know what this is really about. Tell me what you’d do if I knew –_  


He only thinks these questions when they’re in the middle of things, and he bites his lip to keep from saying them out loud. Thinking them after, thinking on the answers, using it as fantasy fuel: now, that’s dangerous, that’s a line he isn’t going to cross. No need to let Kira get inside his head as well.  


Although, if that had happened, how would he know? The bullet you don’t dodge is the one you never see coming.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for 12daysChristmas on LiveJournal, prompt "Six dodged bullets".


End file.
